December 21, 2020
Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School, et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Education, et al. Commonwealth Court Docket No. 561 MD 2019.
Our firm is pleased to announce that on Monday, December 21, 2020, the Honorable Anne Covey issued an Opinion and Order on behalf of the Commonwealth Court overruling the Preliminary Objections of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (“the Department”) and the Secretary of Education, Pedro Rivera, in the above-captioned matter. Kevin McKenna, Esquire successfully argued before an en banc panel of judges on September 16, 2020 on behalf of Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School, Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, and Agora Cyber Charter School.
In its Opinion, the Court analyzed and rejected each of the Department’s arguments, ruling it is not clear that the cyber charter schools will be unable to assert a viable claim for injunctive relief regarding the Department’s Redirection Fee as follows:
- It is inconsistent with the Charter School Law;
- It violates the separation of powers doctrine;
- It is an abuse of discretion; and
- It is unconstitutionally vague and invalid.
